


Bad Things

by womenseemwicked



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 06:03:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17401400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/womenseemwicked/pseuds/womenseemwicked
Summary: for rarsa_black’s Harringrove lyric challenge last February, only just now moving it from tumblr to ao3.lyric: "and we’re both wild / and the night’s young / and you’re my drug / breathe you in ‘til my face numb." Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello(and maybe I based it a bit on the rest of the song too, cause it’s just a very good Harringrove song.)





	Bad Things

Billy is right where Steve knows he’ll be, hopes he’ll be, when he rounds the corner and finds himself at the quarry: smoking on the hood of his car, looking fine as ever in the cool, spring evening. What isn’t expected is that he reacts to Steve’s unanticipated arrival like they didn’t fight last time they were together alone, a week ago. Like Steve didn’t say things he never should have said. Like it’s all okay and they’re in love. He tosses his cigarette down as soon as Steve steps out his car, and closes the distance between them in two strides. 

“Steve…” is all he says before their lips are pressed together, blocking further discussion, and Steve kisses back - of course he kisses back - but it feels wrong somehow. It feels desperate and breathless and scared, and Steve can only take so much before he pulls away. Puts his hands on Billy’s shoulders and holds him so he can get a decent look at his face. 

“Billy, hey. What happened?” he asks. Because it’s not a question of whether something happened. He can see now that Billy’s cheek is starting to bruise, and his fingers are shaking and bloody. His smile is too wide even by his own manic standards. 

“You were right,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m too old to let my old man push me around like some bitch. I couldn’t keep letting him get the better of me, Steve. I couldn’t.”

Steve’s heart nearly stops. Those aren’t his exact words, but they’re close enough that they might as well have been, and his chest constricts with guilt. 

“What? Baby, no, I wasn’t right. I was fucking insane to talk like that. I was selfish, and worried, and what the hell do I know? The worst my dad can do is give me dirty looks. Your dad could… Jesus, Billy. What did you do?”

Billy’s eyes get darker, and Steve knows before he hears it: “I fought back.”  
Steve knows Billy won - his still-pretty face tells him so - and of course he did.

He’s strong. But still, the thought of Billy taking Neil on alone chills his blood and stops his heart. He pulls Billy to his chest and holds him for a second without talking because he’s not sure if he can. The lump in his throat at the thought of losing Billy - right now - has him shaking too. 

It’s out of his mouth before he has time to think better. To preempt it with the whole apology spiel he had planned, or to wait until Billy’s recovered a bit from the hell his emotions are going through already: “I love you.”

Billy pulls out of his arms quickly. Stares at him in disbelief for a long second.

“You what?”

Steve grimaces and shakes his head.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have–”

Billy’s face goes cold. Blank.

“Did you mean it?” he asks, already clearly trying to pull back on the rage that will try to explode from him if Steve tells him no.

“Of course I meant it! I just– Now’s not the time. I get that. You’ve got other things to…”

Billy pulls him into a harsh kiss and presses Steve into the side of his car.

“Right now is the perfect time,” he growls. “I just burned my last bridge with Neil fucking Hargrove and I don’t think there’s any chance of building it back up. I don’t want to build it back,” he says honestly. “I don’t know what that means for my future, I don’t know if I’m even gonna have a roof over my head tonight, but if you…” He bites his bottom lip and Steve leans in to kiss it softly. Soothe his shaking a little with his touch.

“I do,” he promises. “I thought it’d be easier if I didn’t, after Nancy, and with… how secret everything has had to be, but…” Steve shakes his head and kisses Billy again. “And I’m so fucking sorry I said all that shit. I hated myself the second I said it. It was stupid. You’re the best thing… I just want you back, Billy. I’ll do anything.”

There are tears now, and Steve honestly can’t tell if they’re his or Billy’s, but it doesn’t really matter. They’re both shaking a little with the heady combination of fear and excitement and desperation, and as their lips press together, their tongues entwine, it feels like they’re sharing emotions too.

“And you know I’m not gonna let you live on the street, right?” Steve adds after a moment, barely pulling away. Their lips feel too good together like this. Let his words be muffled. He doesn’t care. “You’ll come live with me. Mom’s been saying she wants to buy me an apartment downtown for a while anyway. You can sleep in my bedroom until then. And if you want to… You could–”

Billy groans and breaks him off with another kiss, shaking his head.

“Don’t worry about that now, pretty boy. Just stay here with me. Will figure out the rest in the fucking morning.”

Steve can’t argue with that, not when Billy’s kissing him like he doesn’t need air. So they don’t talk after that. Not until the sun has nearly set and the sound of frogs from the quarry is almost overwhelming, and their lips are going numb. But the night is young, and they’ve got nowhere in particular to be except for with each other, and with each other everything starts to feel okay.


End file.
